Fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church
Jus novum (c. 1140-1563) Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of the faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life The Catholic Church historically observes the disciplines of fasting and abstinence (from meat) at various times each year.
For Catholics, fasting is the reduction of one's intake of food, while abstinence refers to refraining from something that is good, and not inherently sinful, such as meat.
True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood and perjury.
According to Paenitemini, the 1983 Code of Canon Law and the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and where possible, throughout Holy Saturday, both abstinence and fasting are required of Catholics who are not exempted for various reasons.
[8] The bishop in the United States has emphasized the statements in the USCCB norms "Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughout the year", and "we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat.
The Christian tradition of fasts and abstinence developed from Old Testament practices, and were an integral part of the early church community.
Louis Duchesne asserts, based on a verse in Luke 18, that Monday and Thursday were days of fasting among pious Jews.
[13] Early Christians practiced regular weekly fasts on Wednesdays (in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ) and on Fridays (in memory of the crucifixion of Jesus).
As late as the latter part of the second century there were differing opinions not only regarding the manner of the paschal fast, but also the proper time for keeping Easter.
At a later date the wish to realize the exact number of forty days led to the practice of beginning Lent on Ash Wednesday.
[17] Early fasting practices were varied, but by the time of Gregory the Great, the ordinary rule on all fasting days was to take only one meal a day and that only in the evening (after sunset); and to abstain from meat of all sorts, white meats (that is, milk, butter, and cheese, called lacticinia in Latin sources),[18] eggs, and, in the early centuries, wine and oil.
Throughout these same centuries, there was wide disagreement over the appropriateness of white meats on fasting days, often resulting in various indulgences allowing the consumption of milk, butter, and cheese and, less commonly, eggs.
In parts of South America, especially in Venezuela, capybara meat is popular during Lent and Holy Week; in response to a question posed by French settlers in Quebec in the 17th century, beaver was classified as an exception;[22][23][24] in the southeastern portion of Michigan, a longstanding dispensation allows Catholics to consume muskrat as their Friday penance, on Ash Wednesday and on Lenten Fridays, dating back to at least the early 19th century;[25] the Archbishop of New Orleans said that "alligator is considered in the fish family" in 2010.
[14] Advent is considered a time of special self-examination, humility, and spiritual preparation in anticipation of the birth of Christ.
On the eve of Vatican II, fasting and abstinence requirements in numerous Catholic countries were already greatly relaxed compared to the beginning of the 20th century, with fasting often reduced to just four days of the year (Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, the vigil of Christmas or the day before, and the vigil either of the Immaculate Conception or of the Assumption).
[citation needed] Contemporary legislation is rooted in the 1966 Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI, Paenitemini.
He also allowed that fasting and abstinence might be substituted with prayer and works of charity, although the norms for doing so were to be set down by the Episcopal Conferences.
All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence on all Fridays unless they are solemnities, and again on Ash Wednesday; The number of days that require fasting has been greatly reduced by the Episcopal Conferences because under Canon 1253, it is these Conferences that have the authority determine the local norms for fasting and abstinence and their substitution by other forms of penance, works of charity and exercises of piety in their territories.
For example, in 2009 Monsignor Benito Cocchi, Archbishop of Modena, urged young Catholics to give up text messaging for Lent.
Pope Pius XII reduced this in 1957 to fasting (from solid food and alcohol) for three hours before the time of reception of Communion, which paved the way for the celebration of evening Masses.
[34] A further reduction came in 1964, when Pope Paul VI reduced the Eucharistic Fast to one hour, and less still for priests celebrating more than one Mass on the same day.
[38] Catholics in England and Wales are expected to abstain from eating meat, described as the flesh of warm-blooded animals, on Fridays, if they are able to do so, a practice that has been observed for a number of centuries, and is regarded as a penance to remind people of past wrongs and to identify with those who are suffering.
[41] The practice was reinstated to coincide with the first anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK, which had occurred in September 2010.
He asked that Irish Catholics offer their Friday Penances "for an outpouring of God's mercy and the Holy Spirit's gifts of holiness and strength", and that fasting, prayer, reading of Scripture and works of mercy be offered in order to obtain healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland.
[3] The current, commonly accepted U.S. rules, in effect as such for a decade or more, taken directly from the current U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Fast and Abstinence page are:[43][9] Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics.
In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting.Although some years past the USCCB declared that "the age of fasting is from the completion of the twenty-second year to the beginning of the sixtieth", the USCCB page quoted above also references a "Complementary Norm" explaining the lower minimum age of 18.
[44] Also, according to the USCCB: Abstinence laws consider that meat comes only from animals such as chickens, cows, sheep or pigs – all of which live on land.
However, moral theologians have traditionally taught that we should abstain from all animal-derived products (except foods such as gelatin, butter, cheese and eggs, which do not have any meat taste).
[47] However, the same USCCB website says that:While fish, lobster and other shellfish are not considered meat and can be consumed on days of abstinence, indulging in the lavish buffet at your favorite seafood place sort of misses the point.
